The crisis finally subsided, and the sound of hurried footsteps came from the distance.
Pepper had already kicked off her high heels and was running barefoot toward Tony. Still shaken to the core, she threw her arms around him and clung to him tightly.
The two of them leaned into each other, and for a moment it felt as if the whole world had quietly faded away, leaving only the two of them.
Harry, having just swallowed a giant mouthful of PDA, now had to deal with several men in black suits. Leading them was someone he knew very well: Coulson.
With his usual friendly smile, Coulson greeted him in a tone that sounded oddly familiar despite the fact they'd barely met a few times. "Mr. Potter, we meet again."
For an agent, Coulson was remarkably tactful.
He hadn't pestered Harry the way one might imagine a stereotypical agent would. He hadn't had him constantly monitored in secret, and he had never disturbed Harry's family. He had an excellent sense of boundaries.
Part of it, perhaps, was that the identity Harry had shown earlier made S.H.I.E.L.D. wary. They didn't dare make any reckless moves against him.
But it was also true that Coulson's personal style made it very easy for people to like him.
Harry was simple in his own way: if someone treated him kindly, he treated them kindly in return. That was all.
"We meet again, Agent Coulson." The glow on Harry's wand faded, twisting into a vortex before vanishing from his hand.
Coulson didn't bother to hide his curiosity. "That's amazing. What kind of magic is that?"
"A pocket dimension. A high-level storage spell. If you want to learn it, I can lend it to you." Harry had long been thinking about building a new order of sorcerers.
In the future, that sorcerer organization would be made up entirely of his borrowers.
They would take over the Sorcerer Supreme's duties for him—and then he'd be able to goof off with a clear conscience.
Of course, the ideal candidates would be the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, but at the moment Harry couldn't develop borrowers there.
The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj all worshipped the Vishanti—they were the Vishanti's crops. Harry wasn't about to fight a powerful dimensional demon god over "harvest."
So S.H.I.E.L.D., with its similar mission of protecting Earth and maintaining order, naturally became Harry's number-one backup option.
That said, he wasn't going to do a losing deal. Or at least, he wouldn't let himself lose too badly.
Borrowers needed at least some magical aptitude; as long as he could break even, that was acceptable.
If he could actually make a profit, even better.
Coulson was just such a candidate. When they'd shaken hands, Harry had noticed he had a bit of magical talent.
Not much—but enough.
Coulson was sharp. He caught the key word immediately. "'Borrow'? Why describe learning magic as borrowing?"
Harry briefly explained the magic of Kamar-Taj, then smoothly segued into pitching his own lending plan.
"Unlike those stingy dimensional demon gods, my lending terms are very lenient. I don't want your souls or your lives."
"Then what's the price for borrowing from you?"
"Maintaining world peace!" Harry said, full of righteous enthusiasm.
Coulson: "???"
He wondered if he'd heard that wrong. "Sorry, did you say… maintaining world peace?"
Harry finally revealed his true intentions.
"Of course. Maintaining world peace is the most important price. Borrowers will need to regularly go around the world and complete missions I assign.
"Specifically, once a month. That might mean eliminating demons, repelling extra-dimensional incursions, taking down evil organizations, that sort of thing.
"Everything will be within your capabilities. And even if you can't handle something, I'll temporarily lend you more power for free.
"Besides that, you'll need to share your magical experiences and ideas with me, and pay a certain amount of dollars each time you cast a spell."
Coulson fell silent. This was nothing like the magical world he'd been imagining.
Compared to some mysterious wizard, Harry sounded a lot more like a capitalist.
"What's your goal in all this?" Coulson asked.
"Same as yours—protecting Earth. In the future I'll definitely inherit the Sorcerer Supreme's responsibilities. If the borrowers step in to maintain order on Earth, things will be much easier for me.
"And if I lend to talented people, I can gain their magical knowledge in return. That's another source of profit—not to mention the actual cash I'll be making."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. I can't give you an answer yet. I need to think about it, then get back to you after I've decided," Coulson said cautiously.
"Of course."
Coulson paused for a moment. It felt like the timing was right to carry out the task Director Fury had given him.
His smile widened, and he suddenly sounded like a salesman at the door. "Mr. Potter, your attainments in magic are truly admirable. As it happens, we at S.H.I.E.L.D. want to expand our reach into the mystic field. Would you be willing to act as a special consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"What obligations does a consultant have? And how much is the salary?"
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Coulson hurried to answer. "There are no specific obligations. We'd just like you to help answer certain questions about the occult from time to time. As for the salary, it would be a hundred thousand dollars a month."
Free money? Of course Harry agreed. And working with S.H.I.E.L.D. had its advantages for him as well. "No problem."
Leaving Coulson with a lending terms sheet, Harry said goodbye to Tony, then opened a portal and stepped back into his own room.
Because the contracts for Coulson and his people had a mandatory "one mission a month" clause, he didn't need to construct a full magic array for them. The casting fee could be much lower—only about a tenth of what he charged Tony.
Even so, using the magic power for a simple low-level spell to permanently create a certain amount of gold meant that the dollars he got from selling that gold were higher than the dollars the borrowers had to pay.
Harry was making a killing.
…
Coulson wrapped up his mission report, relaying every detail of his earlier conversation with Harry to his superior.
His superior was a middle-aged Black man with a shaved head and dark skin. The left side of his face was covered in scars, and an eyepatch hid his left eye.
His features were hard and sharp, his gaze like a knife, radiating a calm authority and the weight of too many battles fought in the shadows.
He was the current director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury—the spymaster lurking behind the scenes.
Nick Fury rested his chin on his hands and stared at Coulson. "Do you think he's trustworthy? This so-called 'lending' of his?"
As an old hand at S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson wasn't about to give a snap judgment. "Mr. Potter seems like a good person, but we can't be sure of his true motives. Appearances can be deceiving."
Nick Fury nodded. Coulson hadn't stated anything outright, but his slightly favorable lean spoke volumes.
To be honest, Nick Fury was torn.
If he accepted Harry Potter's lending terms, S.H.I.E.L.D. would instantly gain at least several superhumans.
More importantly, the price was practically nothing—just a bit of money, and one mission a month for the agents.
For well-trained agents, a single monthly assignment was basically just another day at the office.
Look at Coulson—he'd been going without a proper vacation for months, and he still had to keep working.
But the drawbacks were just as obvious: the agents' powers would come from Harry Potter. If he could grant them magic, then he could definitely take it away.
The true capitalist, Nick Fury, pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Maybe we can run an experiment. Let Natasha try it first."
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